Chapter 125
Apartment.
Alongside villas, it was one of the most common types of housing in South Korea.
But here on the continent of Lorasia, it was unfamiliar, no—completely unprecedented, the very first building of its kind in history.
The full-scale construction of that apartment had begun.
“Construction always begins with foundation work.”
Lloyd looked around at the wide, empty site before him.
This land lay in the northern part of the barony.
Across the Frona River, which encircled the entire estate in a clockwise flow.
From the very moment he conceived the idea of building an apartment complex, he had set his sights on this location.
‘It’s far enough from the central town of the estate, and the soil was too poor to use for farming anyway.’
It was almost unused land.
That made it all the more ideal for construction.
There was no need to bother with procedures like land compensation.
“So first, let’s dig the foundation. Javier?”
“Yes, you called for me.”
“Of course I did. Who else is there but you and me?”
“……”
“Hm? What’s with that face? You look like a puppy chewing on dung.”
“May I be honest about the reason?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I’d rather not.”
“What?”
“I said I’d rather not.”
Javier turned to him.
His eyes were bristling with prickly displeasure, like a hedgehog’s quills.
“I already know what you’re going to order me to do. You’ll tell me to use blasting with my sword again. To poke the ground like a brush dipped in red paint, mark spots, and then pierce straight down to make holes.”
“Mhm, and so?”
“Then once I drill dozens of holes, you’ll pour cement into them.”
“Mhm, and so?”
“You’ll use those cement masses as piles for the building’s foundation.”
“Mhm, exactly. You’re quite smart, aren’t you?”
“Thank you—no, that’s not the point. That’s why I don’t want to do it.”
“You don’t want to drill the holes?”
“Yes.”
“Why not?”
“Because you treat me like a convenient tool.”
Javier’s voice grew cold.
“Allow me to remind you of something you seem to have forgotten lately: I am a knight sworn to my lord.”
“Mhm. And so?”
“And yet you use me as if it’s only natural, not for my true duty of guarding the estate, but for trivial construction work.”
“Mhm. And you’ll still do it, right?”
“……”
“Exactly. You don’t want to, but you will anyway. Because it’s for the estate’s development.”
“I just wanted to make that clear.”
“Aha. So you just wanted to complain to me, huh?”
“……”
“Why should I care?”
“……”
“Alright, let’s work.”
Lloyd smirked as he picked up a jar.
Inside, of course, was red dye for marking the blasting points.
With a big brush, he stabbed the ground here and there, leaving marks.
Meanwhile, he explained:
“Here. And here. And over here. Depth, 12 meters. Diameter, 50 centimeters. The spacing is 3 meters.”
“That’s my task?”
“Yup. Think you can finish before lunch?”
“I’d have to push myself to the limit.”
“That’s why it’s called an assignment.”
“Excuse me?”
Javier grumbled at the workload.
Lloyd looked at him pitifully.
“You just asked if it was an assignment, right?”
“I did.”
“Don’t you know what the word means?”
“No.”
“Then let me make an acrostic for you. Wow, it’s been a while since I did one. Want to cue me in?”
“Now? Really—”
“Go on.”
“……As.”
“As in overwork unto death.”
“……Sign.”
“Sign that I’ll go first.”
“……”
“Click. You didn’t know, huh? That’s life.”
“……”
Javier’s expression soured.
Lloyd’s smile brightened.
“Good luck then. I’m off to prepare the cement.”
Whoosh.
Before Javier could retort, Lloyd was already striding away.
“……”
What a lord, someone you’d want to send on a one-way trip to the afterlife.
“Tch.”
Might as well get to work.
With a resigned sigh, Javier drew his sword.
Thus began the foundation work of the historic apartment construction.
♣
Time passed swiftly.
The construction went smoothly.
The commemorative first apartment building.
Building 101’s foundation was laid over a 150-meter by 150-meter square, a total area of 22,500㎡.
Of course, the building itself didn’t cover that entire space.
Its shape was a hollow square, like the character “□.”
Thus, the foundation work surrounded a central square courtyard.
Thud! Thunk!
Holes 50 centimeters wide and 12 meters deep were drilled at 3-meter intervals.
Freshly mixed cement was poured into them.
Over 3,000 foundation piles were set into the earth across an area of about 10,000㎡.
Next came the footing work.
On top of the 3,000 piles, formwork 60 centimeters high was built.
“Of course, just pouring cement isn’t enough. Now comes the important part.”
As the formwork neared completion, Lloyd summoned 120 orc miners.
“Alright, everyone! Today we’re going to learn the fun game of rebar bending.”
“Kuiik? Rebar bending, kuiik?”
“That’s right. Do you see this here?”
“I see it, kuiik.”
Lloyd held up some of Bangul’s rebar.
The orc leader, Arosh, tilted his head.
‘Bend that and play with it, kuiik?’
What good would that do?
What’s so fun about that?
He was curious.
Meanwhile, Lloyd demonstrated.
“You just take it like this, like this, nnngh, like this! Bend it while you play.”
Crrrack! Creak! Crack!
Lloyd spun his mana circle at full power.
Amplified mana surged through his grip.
Rebar as thick as a finger bent like taffy at a 90-degree angle. He bent it again, then the other way, then intertwined the pieces.
At last, he completed a basic rebar jointing on-site and showed everyone.
“Alright, did you all see that?”
“We saw! But we have a question, kuiik!”
“Arosh? What’s your question?”
“What’s the benefit of this rebar bending game, kuiik!”
“Aha.”
A sly grin spread across Lloyd’s lips.
His answer was clear.
“You build muscle.”
“M-Muscle, kuiik?”
“Yeah. Especially grip strength, wrist, and forearm muscles. It’s the best.”
“F-Forearm, kuiik!”
“Exactly. The forearm. Your arms get way more defined. You just pinch with your fingers and—bam! Veins bulge from wrist to elbow. Oh yeah. How’s that sound?”
“V-Veins, kuiiik!”
“Exciting, right? Keep at it and you’ll get there.”
“Better than wrist curls? Better than reverse curls, kuiik?”
“Pfft, those are just warmups compared to this.”
“G-Good! We’ll learn! Rebar bending game, kuiik!”
“Kuuuuiiik!”
All 120 orc miners snorted with excitement.
Thus, they secured a workforce of primal rebar workers who didn’t even need tools.
Training was simple, too.
Orcs had strength to spare.
After a few tips, they picked up the technique easily.
With raw power in their fingers, they bent and bound the steel faster and more flexibly than professional tools.
Rebar assembly from the foundation to the first floor progressed at lightning speed.
At the same time, the formwork expanded steadily.
All according to Lloyd’s blueprint.
Not a single centimeter off.
Then came the first concrete pour.
“Ppodong! Spin it!”
“Ppodong!”
Whoooosh!
A 20-meter wheel spun furiously.
The giant mixer it drove whirled mightily.
The materials inside blended instantly in precise ratios.
This wasn’t random mixing.
Lloyd calculated everything for apartment construction:
Design strength.
Mixing strength.
Slump and AE air content.
Water-to-binder ratio.
Fine aggregate ratio and compressive strength balance.
Every element was accounted for.
Thus, perfectly mixed cement was churned by the power of 1 Ppodong.
Then, pumped by a dwarven-crafted screw-type manual pump.
“One, two, press!”
“Hrrrgh!”
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Twenty White Spear Knights grabbed the pump handles.
Muscular men sweated as they pressed and pulled, over and over.
Each push sent the pump into motion.
Cement flowed from the mixer through long leather hoses.
Lloyd himself held the hose’s end, directing the pour.
“Keep it steady! No breaks in the flow!”
Glurp! Gush!
The cement surged with each pump stroke.
The complex formwork was packed tight.
Lloyd activated his surveying skill, using its special option: [Underground Scanning].
‘Good. It’s filling evenly.’
He watched cement seep into every corner.
Even tricky spots like edges and joints were packed with no air gaps.
‘The mix is perfect.’
Neither too stiff nor too runny.
Absolutely ideal.
The pump worked splendidly too.
The first pour finished flawlessly.
“Alright. Now it cures for three days.”
“By curing, you mean drying and hardening the cement, correct?”
“Wow, Javier, you know even that now?”
“I learned unwillingly—because of you. Anyway—”
With dirt smudging his cheek, Javier’s eyes gleamed.
“So that means we can rest for three days?”
“Nope.”
“……”
“Why rest? We’ll work.”
“But you just said it needs three days—”
“So we’ll start Building 102’s foundation meanwhile.”
“……”
“Were you actually planning to laze around? Seriously?”
“That’s…”
“Don’t you hear the cries of refugees suffering in the tents even now?”
“……”
“Sigh. How disappointing. I want to stay up all night just to build faster, so their suffering ends even a day sooner.”
“……”
“Sigh. It’s tragic. I’d even skip dinner if it meant giving them homes a day earlier. So they can smile again.”
“……”
This lord…!
Javier finally surrendered.
“Fine. Then I’ll drill the ground with blasting again?”
“Yup. Shall we start now?”
“…Yes.”
Resigned, Javier drew his sword once more.
Thus, the historic apartment construction pressed on.
♣
The same process repeated.
“Rebar! Bend it, kuiik!”
“Rebar! Twist it, kuiik!”
“Lunchbox! Eat it, kuiik!”
“There’s a glutton here, kuiiik!”
The orcs bent and tied rebar with gusto.
The carpenters built formwork.
Everything mirrored the first floor.
It was like Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V.
‘That’s the beauty of apartment construction!’
Every floor had the same structure.
It was copy-paste in reality.
Once the first floor was done, the rest became easier and faster.
Repeating the same steps.
‘And the workers’ skills improved rapidly too.’
Repetition boosted efficiency by leaps and bounds.
Concrete poured on 101’s second floor.
While it cured, work moved to 102’s site.
Concrete poured for 102’s first floor.
While it cured, formwork and rebar went up for 101’s third floor.
Everything meshed together like cogs in a machine.
Then came a stroke of fortune.
The royal support supplies finally arrived.
“Her Majesty decreed that aid will now come once a month.”
So said the officer delivering the supplies.
Refugees finally had some relief.
Meanwhile, the buildings of 101 and 102 steadily rose.
At this point, Lloyd summoned another helper he’d planned for.
“Bibeong! Lift it up!”
“Bibeong—!”
The ruler of Lake Capua, Bibeong, was brought in as a special mercenary.
With his colossal body and immense strength, he hauled materials up to higher floors.
He was essentially the tower crane of the site.
Construction sped up even more.
Concrete poured on the 5th floor.
Rebar and formwork built for the 6th.
Pour, build, pour, hammer, smooth.
In just a month, Building 101 stood tall at 8 stories.
“Don’t think it’s over yet! What’s the most important thing in construction?”
“Finishing and detail!”
Lloyd asked, and the engineers answered.
Through the falling first snow, the landmark Honeybee Apartment complex began to take shape—an iconic construction that would dramatically advance the Frontera Estate.